Prologue

His nose was driving him crazy. There was something in the bushes around the big white house that he needed to get at. But no matter where he sniffed or dug or marked (the marking was really just for the heck of it), he couldn’t get to that thing. His nose led him to the back yard. He had to pause a minute to find the loose part of the fence—okay, the part of the fence he might have broken in his enthusiasm to get into the yard. But this was no time to stop and feel guilty. He was afraid he would lose the trail of whatever it was he was tracking.

He followed his daily route. Start at the loose (okay, broken) part of the fence, then secure the perimeter by smelling every corner and making sure to mark anything that smelled like a bunny or a cat or any of the other furry creatures he sometimes saw back here. When that was done, he could venture farther into the open. Sometimes he would find something delicious to snack on—even though sometimes that didn’t make him feel so good—but today he was determined to stay focused. The scent seemed stronger than ever—but what was it? Where was it? It had to be nearby . . .

The back door opened and the big guy stomped into the yard. That was the end of searching for now. The big guy would always stand in the yard for a while and look around. Sometimes he thought the big guy was looking for him. But he was really good at hiding and eventually the big guy would go into the garage. He’d make a lot of noise in there, then come out when it was dark. Plenty of time.

Whatever he was tracking, it was close. He was gonna find it.